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en-usSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:08:40 -0400Sun, 02 Aug 2015 17:08:40 -0400The latest news on Thinspo from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/body-image-issues-may-be-genetic-2012-10Body Image Issues May Be Partially Genetichttp://www.businessinsider.com/body-image-issues-may-be-genetic-2012-10
Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:45:00 -0400Stephanie Pappas
<p><img style="float:right;" src="https://www.businessinsider.com/image/5050fb6eecad045864000012-590-443/olsen-twins.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="olsen twins " width="400" /></p><p>Hate your body? Society's obsession with thinness may not be to blame &mdash; at least not entirely. A new study finds that genetics influences how much women buy into the idea that thin equals beautiful.</p>
<p>Identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to hold similar views on <a href="http://www.livescience.com/22209-stress-men-heavier-women.html">thinness and beauty</a>, according to the new research, published online today (Oct. 3) in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Because siblings are raised in very similar environments, the difference between fraternal twins, who share about half of their genes, and identical twins, who share all of their genes, suggests a genetic component to what researchers call "thin-ideal internalization."</p>
<p>"Thin-ideal internalization is the extent to which someone identifies with the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/8984-preschool-girls-favor-thin-study-finds.html">ideal of thinness and attractiveness</a> in our culture," said study researcher Jessica Suisman, a doctoral student in psychology at Michigan State University. "Someone who has high levels of thin-ideal internalization would say, 'I wish I looked more like the women I see in the media and magazines.'"</p>
<p><strong>The genetics of body hatred</strong></p>
<p>Media and magazines have taken the rap for much of American women's body dissatisfaction. A long list of studies have found that internalization of the Hollywood beauty ideal is linked to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and less-severe food issues such as constant dieting. [<a href="http://www.livescience.com/20046-10-odd-facts-female-reproductive-system.html">10 Odd Facts About the Female Body</a>]</p>
<p>The question, Suisman told LiveScience, is why every woman in America doesn't succumb to this cultural obsession with thinness, given that everyone sees thin-is-best messages on nearly a daily basis. She and her colleagues launched a study to look, for the first time, at genetic influences on these <a href="http://www.livescience.com/20210-health-body-image-tips.html">beauty attitudes</a>.</p>
<p>To do so, the researchers used survey responses from a large study of twins in Michigan. A total of 343 female twins ages 12 to 22 filled out surveys, answering questions about how strongly they wanted to look like women they saw on television, in magazines and in advertisements. The more they aspired to those looks, the higher their thin-ideal internalization.</p>
<p>The researchers then compared how identical and fraternal twin pairs answered the questions. They found that the more similar the genes, the more similar the answers.</p>
<p>"The identical twins were more similar in their responses to those questions, more similar in their levels of thin-ideal internalization than the fraternal twins," Suisman said. That indicates that all else being equal, genetics play a role in how much women stress about their bodies, perhaps by making some women more sensitive to <a href="http://www.livescience.com/19842-swimsuit-body-image.html">thinness-promoting environmental cues</a>, Suisman said. In other words, not everyone reacts the same way to a <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/victorias-secret">Victoria's Secret</a> ad or an episode of "America's Next Top Model."</p>
<p><strong>Risky DNA</strong></p>
<p>The twin-study method can't tell researchers which genes might be responsible for increasing a woman's internalization of the thin ideal, Suisman said. There is almost certainly no straightforward answer, as complex behaviors tend to be influenced by multiple genes. Likely culprits are genes that influence personality, Suisman said, perhaps those that increase perfectionism or the tendency to experience negative emotions.</p>
<p>The next step, Suisman said, is to conduct other twin studies to see how genetics influences the likelihood of developing an actual <a href="http://www.livescience.com/21087-weight-eating-disorders-older-women.html">eating disorder</a> and whether the same factors are at play as in thin-ideal internalization.</p>
<p>The researchers also found that, in twins, shared environmental risk factors &mdash; such as being in the same economic class and growing up in the same household &mdash; had little influence on thin-ideal internalization. But non-shared factors, including different friend groups or different relationships with parents, explained some of the differences between siblings' attitudes.</p>
<p>"The most important thing is when we're thinking about tendencies toward eating disorders or tendencies toward buying into the pressure to be thin, obviously the environment we live in is important," Suisman said. "But I think it's also important to consider genetic and non-shared environmental risk factors as well."</p>
<p>&nbsp;<em>Follow Stephanie Pappas on <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter">Twitter</a> </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/sipappas">@sipappas</a>&nbsp;</em><em>or LiveScience </em><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/LiveScience"><em>@livescience</em></a><em>. We're also on </em><em><a href="http://www.facebook.com/livescience">Facebook</a>&nbsp;</em><em>&amp; </em><a href="https://plus.google.com/101164570444913213957/posts"><em>Google+</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.livescience.com/17852-unhealthy-personality-traits-neuroticism.html">7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.livescience.com/14152-destructive-human-behaviors-bad-habits.html">Understanding the 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.livescience.com/16466-twins-multiple-birthsfascinating-facts.html">Seeing Double: 8 Fascinating Facts About Twins</a></li>
</ul><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/body-image-issues-may-be-genetic-2012-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-pinterest-is-fighting-against-the-thinspiration-movement-2012-7How Pinterest Is Fighting The 'Thinspo' Movementhttp://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-pinterest-is-fighting-against-the-thinspiration-movement-2012-7
Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:12:00 -0400Laura Stampler
<p>Although photo sharing sites like Pinterest provided an ideal medium for the dark practice of "thinspo" or "thinspiration"&mdash;in which people post photos of themselves/models/actors with jutting collarbones and exposed rib cages to inspire others to become unhealthily thin&mdash;the social media sites are now taking a stand.</p>
<p>In May, when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-pinterests-frightening-pro-anorexia-thinspo-cult-2012-3#"><em>Business Insider</em> explored the world of thinspo on Pinterest,</a> this is what happened when one searched for "thinspo" on the site:</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4f6a5173ecad04017b000071-806-441/pinterest-thinspo.png" border="0" alt="pinterest thinspo" width="806" height="441" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Pinterest later announced that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/pinterest-thinspiration-content-banned_n_1380484.html">it would prohibit pins that encouraged self-abuse</a>, which includes pro-anorexia or bulimia posts, but it was unclear how that would be achieved on the site.</p>
<p>Now a public health announcement appears on the screen whenever anyone searches for "thinspo" on Pinterest:</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/501172aceab8ead428000002/pinterest-thinspo.png" border="0" alt="pinterest thinspo" width="809" height="248" /></p>
<p>A similar message appears when searching for "thinspiration":<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5011731b69bedd003e000009/pinterest-thinspiration.png" border="0" alt="pinterest &quot;thinspiration&quot;" width="806" height="600" /></p>
<p>Although some pictures slip by&mdash;and users will surely find new tags or ways around the ban&mdash;this is certainly better than what was coming up only two months ago.</p>
<p class="slide-title"><a href="http://staff.tumblr.com/post/18132624829/self-harm-blogs">On February 23, Tumblr announced that</a> "when a user searches for tags like 'anorexia,' 'anorexic,' 'bulimia,' 'bulimic,' 'thinspiration,' 'thinspo,' 'proana,' 'purge,' 'purging,' etc., we would show 'PSA language." But searching for "#thinspo" in May yielded many results:<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4f6a41f96bb3f73228000063/pinterest-thinspo.png" border="0" alt="pinterest thinspo" /></p>
<p class="slide-title">When searching for "thinspo" on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/tumblr" class="hidden_link">Tumblr</a> today, users bizarrely get transferred to the same page that comes up when one searches "lol":<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/501177f26bb3f7b458000006/tumblr-thinspo-lol.png" border="0" alt="tumblr thinspo lol" width="803" height="432" /></p>
<h2 class="slide-title"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-pinterests-frightening-pro-anorexia-thinspo-cult-2012-3#">Click here to take a look inside the frightening cult of "thinspo"&gt;</a></h2><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-pinterest-is-fighting-against-the-thinspiration-movement-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/thinspo-blogs-war-on-obesity-targets-kate-upton-a-fat-squishy-brick-2012-7'Thinspo' Blog Targets Kate Upton: A 'Fat, Squishy Brick'http://www.businessinsider.com/thinspo-blogs-war-on-obesity-targets-kate-upton-a-fat-squishy-brick-2012-7
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:59:00 -0400Aly Weisman
<p><a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/" target="_blank"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4ffec9edeab8eaa216000001-406-577/kate-upton.png" border="0" alt="Kate Upton" width="406" height="577" />SkinnyGossip,</a> a "thinspo" website, has taken aim at a new target: 20-year-old swimsuit model <strong>Kate Upton</strong>.</p>
<p>The "thinspiration" movement walks hand-in-hand with the pro-anorexia movement, encouraging women to undertake starvation diets or to lose unhealthy amounts of weight.</p>
<p>Yesterday, <a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/" target="_blank">SkinnyGossip</a> made Upton public enemy No.1 in America's obesity epidemic.</p>
<p>Its anti-Upton post starts out with a bang: "Did you know that humans are 80% <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/324/5926/522.full">genetically identical to cows</a>? Well, allow me to prove it to you&hellip;" and goes on to display 12 unflattering photos of the bikini-clad model, pointing out her every ounce of excess.</p>
<p>Written anonymously by a <a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/about/" target="_blank">5'7, 100-pound, 20-something "bi-coastal American"</a> who claims to be a former editorial and print model now working in the fashion industry, the post goes on to critique Upton's body as being way too large for a swimsuit model.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>"Huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition &ndash; she looks like a squishy brick. Is this what American women are &ldquo;striving&rdquo; for now? The lazy, lardy look? Have we really gotten so fat in this country that Kate is the best we can aim for? Sorry, but: eww!"</em></p>
<p>Upton is one of a small number of models who are hugely famous but not rail-thin.</p>
<p>Despite appearing on the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/did-kate-upton-deserve-the-sports-illustrated-cover-meet-the-17-other-hopefuls-2012-2?" target="_blank">covers of <em>Sports Illustrated</em> swimsuit edition</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-the-many-talents-of-kate-upton-in-her-most-gratuitous-video-yet-2012-6" target="_blank"><em>GQ</em></a>, in the pages of <em><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vogue" class="hidden_link">Vogue</a></em> and <em>Harper's Bazaar</em>, on Guess billboards and <a href="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-05-01/entertainment/31513754_1_kate-upton-dougie-famous-parents" target="_blank">YouTube dance videos</a>, the pro-skinny website still feels Upton is "thick, vulgar, and almost <em>pornographic</em>."</p>
<p>"The poor girl is 19, but looks like a rough 30. She&rsquo;s 150+ lbs, but dresses like she&rsquo;s 115," writes the blogger.</p>
<p>Read the rest of the scathing post <a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/kate-upton-is-well-marbled/#more-2233" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</p>
<p>This is the same site that <a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/barbara-palvin-weight-gain/" target="_blank">calls out runway models for getting fat</a> and posts a "<a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/some-changes/" target="_blank">Skinny Tip of the Day.</a>"&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the blogger's defense of him or herself, <a href="http://www.skinnygossip.com/some-changes/" target="_blank">s/he writes</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>As a thin person, I was also annoyed by our double-standards around weight. For example, people think nothing of telling a thin woman &ndash; to their face, in front of an entire group of people &ndash; how skinny they are and even to suggest what they should eat. But I&rsquo;ve never seen the reverse happen to an overweight woman.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;Until now.</p>
<h2>SEE ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kate-upton-justin-verlander-2012-7">Here's the athlete Kate Upton was rumored to be getting cozy with last weekend &gt;</a></h2><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thinspo-blogs-war-on-obesity-targets-kate-upton-a-fat-squishy-brick-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-users-in-civil-war-against-thinspo-after-self-harm-ban-fails-2012-4Pinterest Users Start Civil War Against 'Thinspo' After Self-Harm Ban Failshttp://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-users-in-civil-war-against-thinspo-after-self-harm-ban-fails-2012-4
Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:49:00 -0400Jim Edwards
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4f7dba2269beddbd3200002e-397-469/thinspo-antithinspo.png" border="0" alt="thinspo antithinspo" width="397" height="469" /></p><p>Pinterest users have begun a civil war against fellow users who promote "thinspo" images on the scrapbook site by polluting the #thinspo tag with images of attractive, curvy women and aphorisms inspiring women to love their bodies no matter what they look like.<br /><br />Images tagged #thinspo, short for "thinspiration," are posted by women trying to lose weight. They're technically intended to motivate women to stay on their diet and exercise regimens. But thinspo is widely understood as a codeword used by the bizarre "pro-ana," or pro-anorexia, community, which advocates dramatic, unhealthy weight loss through starvation.<br /><br />Pinterest began to become littered with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-has-a-porn-problem-2012-2">thinspo images back in February</a>, and gained <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-pinterests-frightening-pro-anorexia-thinspo-cult-2012-3">wide attention in March</a> when Pinterest changed its user rules to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-responds-to-problems-with-an-updated-terms-of-service-2012-3">ban self-harm images</a>.<br /><br />The ban failed. A <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/thinspo">search for "thinspo"</a> on Pinterest still returns hundreds of photographs of impossibly thin women, and girls who have taken photographs of themselves in their underwear to show others how thin they are.</p>
<p>It's a business issue for Pinterest: If the site is to ever generate revenue and survive in the long term, it will need relationships with advertisers. They tend to shy away from controversial content, and "inspirational" self-harming images fall into that category.</p>
<p>Recently, angry Pinterest users have begun adding the #thinspo tag to <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/45528646203057626/">images of cute</a>, <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/45528646203057629/">curvy women</a>, and graphics with mottoes such as "<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/45528646203045604/">Keep calm and keep eating</a>" and "Thinspiration is not inspiring." Those images also carry an <a href="http://pinterest.com/search/?q=antithinspo">#antithinspo tag</a>.</p>
<p>It is now impossible to search for thinspo on Pinterest without also getting a bunch of antithinspo material.<br /><br />The antithinspo tag has yet to arrive on <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/tumblr">Tumblr</a>, which has a similar problem. (Here's a particularly disturbing Tumblr blog, from a woman who <a href="http://killingthekilos.tumblr.com/">weighs herself twice a day but eats only one meal</a> a day.)</p><h3>This is what searching for "thinspo" used to turn up.</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4f7db91d69bedd932600003b-400-300/this-is-what-searching-for-thinspo-used-to-turn-up.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Now, users are polluting the thinspo search results with images of women who are happy not being thin.</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4f7db95aecad041c79000039-400-300/now-users-are-polluting-the-thinspo-search-results-with-images-of-women-who-are-happy-not-being-thin.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Thinspo images on Pinterest are now littered with photos of sad-looking skeletons.</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4f7dba88eab8eafd73000009-400-300/thinspo-images-on-pinterest-are-now-littered-with-photos-of-sad-looking-skeletons.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-users-in-civil-war-against-thinspo-after-self-harm-ban-fails-2012-4#thinspo-women-seem-to-be-at-war-with-their-bodies-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a>